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$23,000 chain mail suit could protect divers from sharks

Neptunic suit : photo courtesy Neptunic

Shark News

Chain mail suit could protect divers from sharks

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 31 December, 2007 : - - A sexy chain mail suit could be the perfect swim attire this summer as beach patrols report record numbers of sharks off the coast. The Neptunic C Suit made from steel mesh, high-tech fibre, titanium and hybrid laminates can withstand shark bites  but will make a $23,000 hole in your wallet.

The US-made suit is a modern version of a steel shark suit first tested by famed Australian shark expert Valerie Taylor in the early 1980s. Her husband, Ron, paid $2000 to have a suit made from the steel mesh used for butchers' gloves.

"I learnt a lot about how sharks attack, how they bite, and how they feed, just by wearing the chain mail suit with all different species of sharks and letting them chew away," she recently told the ABC. "The most difficult thing was to get the sharks to bite. I had to put tuna fillets under the mesh." US diver and photographer Jeremiah Sullivan improved the technology of the chain mail suit and called it the Neptunic.

"During testing Jeremiah has been subjected to thousands of shark bites while sustaining no significant injuries," the Neptunic website brags. But a legal disclaimer warns that a shark bite could still cause broken bones and tissue damage, and goes on to say: "We offer no guarantee whatsoever about the usefulness of this product to protect a wearer from injury of any kind under any circumstances."